Review No. 196: Osaka Japanese Hibachi Steakhouse
1700 Altus St., Suite 105
(501) 358-6023
The Situation
He Said: She Said was in the middle of a huge work project and had no time to think about eating at home, so we figured we might as well do a review as long as we were forced to eat out anyway. And she thought sushi sounded like it would get her through her work marathon, so off we went to the new Osaka Japanese Hibachi Steakhouse. This is the third Japanese restaurant to occupy this space in Hendrix Village since the building was erected—it was preceded by Agape Asian Noodles and, before that, Sashimi Sushi Bar. But third time’s the charm as they say, so maybe this one will be the business that stays for the long run. If you’re familiar with the Osaka Japanese Restaurant in Texarkana, this does not seem to be affiliated with that one, and the menus are completely different.
She Said: Yes, I’m “covered up” as they say, writing two very long market research reports back to back, and I thought it would be a nice reward for a productive morning to head out to a nice lunch, where I would consume lots of delicious calories, and then return to my desk for the rest of my life.
Ambience:
He Said: The inside seems to be the same as it was before, mostly brick and dark wood. There are a lot of Japanese banners hanging around that give the place some color, There is a bar that was here from before, but this new restaurant does not serve alcohol, at least not yet.
She Said: Yes, I liked the dark colors and natural light combination. The booths are very private. It has a quasi-unfinished feel though as the bar and sushi bar areas are unused (one was a sushi bar perhaps?) except for storage.
Drinks:
He Said: I like to have green tea at Japanese restaurants—it just seems fitting. So I ordered the special “Green Tea with Honey” on the menu. But I’m pretty sure what I was brought was just plain green tea. I certainly didn’t taste any honey in it.
She Said: There were a lot of options of milk drinks and different teas, but I was applying my calories to the food, so I went for a Diet Coke with lemon, and it was fine, though when I got my refill, there was almost no ice.
Food
He Said: I ordered the spicy edamame as an appetizer. Apparently they will serve it plain rather than spicy, though the menu does not specify that. I have to say that the spicy edamame was in fact hotter than I would have liked it. It was edible, but I’d have preferred mine with just salt. If you prefer your edamame hot and spicy, this might be just what you’re looking for. She Said’s appetizer was a scallion pan cake, which she kindly shared with me. I’ll let her tell you about it, but (spoiler alert) this was the high point of the meal. I’d come back here just to have this again.
My meal (this was lunch by the way) was the hibachi salmon on the lunch menu. This was served with hibachi vegetables and fried rice, and also came with some miso soup and salad. The soup and salad (with ginger dressing) came out first and were fine—comparable to miso soup and salad anywhere else in Conway. The salmon was done just right and was quite tasty, though the lunch portion was not very large. The fried rice was pretty standard, and the vegetables consisted mainly of zucchini, broccoli, mushroom, carrot, onion, and plenty of another root vegetable I couldn’t quite identify. Everything was mild and tasty, comparable I’d say to other Japanese restaurants in town.
She Said: I had my eye on the vegetable gyoza on the menu, but when I saw two of my favorite words put together on the hot appetizers list my life was changed: “Scallion pancake.” That sounded delicious, and I wondered how I had lived 53 years without scallion pancakes in my life, so I very quickly settled on that. It was a medium-plate-filling thin savory pancake with, yes, scallions, and it was delicious, and the sauce it came with was quite tasty, though it was perfectly fine on its own. Like He Said, I would come back here just for this pancake. If I lived in those apartments over Osaka, I’d eat one a day. This was perfection. After this, I spent a lot of time looking over the various sushi rolls on the menu. In the end, I settled on the lobster sushi roll, which had deep fried lobster tempura, cucumber, avocado, lettuce and mayonnaise with caviar. This was a very filling 10-piece roll (see featured photo), and, in fact, I could not finish it, leaving 3 pieces on the platter. It had a satisfying mix of textures and tastes, was a bit spicy, but also the flavors of the lobster, the avocado and the cucumber all worked very well together. I enjoyed it very much.
Service
He Said: There was a “help wanted” sign in the window, and we noticed that there was only one server who seemed to be covering the entire room. She was handling it with grace but there was a lot going on, so I can’t say we were served with great speed, and if we had to get back to work in a timely fashion we might have been up against it. But she was polite and as attentive as it was possible for her to be.
She Said: You covered it, Ruud. She was doing amazing work, covering all the tables, and it was getting busier as we sat there. She was friendly and professional. And busy.
What We Got and What We Paid: A Diet Coke (with refill), one green tea, one spicy edamame, one scallion pan cake, one lobster sushi roll, one hibachi salmon (with miso soup, salad, fried rice and hibachi vegetables), all for $54.78 (before tip).
Elapsed Time from Our Arrival to Food Arrival: Typically for Japanese cuisine, the food arrived staggered as it was ready. Here’s what happened when at Osaka:
12:06 p.m. Arrival
12:29 p.m. Spicy edamame
12:35 p.m. Scallion pancake
12:42 p.m. Hibachi salmon
12:46 p.m. Lobster sushi roll
Rating:
He Said: It’s not my favorite Japanese restaurant in Conway, but it might be yours. The scallion pancake is one of the best items on any Japanese menu in town.
She Said: Yes, I will return here for the scallion pancake…when I have time to spare.
Is Osaka Japanese Hibachi Steakhouse good at what it’s good for? Yes, it’s a Japanese restaurant with an interesting menu items, some unique offerings and professional service.